Convicted Murderer Ventura gets 50 years

Superior Court finally sentenced yesterday Dominicans Alcibiades Méndez and Gilberto Ventura to 50 years in prison for aggravated homicide and the kidnapping of 5 Chorreranos of Asian descent.

Ventura Ceballos, a Dominican national, was accused of murdering the five Panamanians in the El Trapichito sector, La Chorrera, with Alcibiades Méndez, alias "José Celular", between 2010 and 2011. Ventura was 35 years old and had two businesses in the center of town.

Ventura escaped the maximum security pavilion 7 of the La Joyita prison on December 28, 2016, when he walked out dressed as a woman. Due to his escape from La Joyita, there are four people charged, including a policeman for the presumed commission of illicit association against collective security, evasion and concealment. Ventura was recaptured after nine months with the intervention of Interpol. He as on the list of the most wanted by the Police and had a $50K reward on his head.,

He is considered a dangerous man. After the tragedy of La Chorrera was uncovered, he hid from the Panamanian and Dominican authorities using false identification and passports as Fermín Antonio Taveras Ramírez and Ángel Betancourt.

Keyla Gisselle Bendibú Salazar and Mario Luis Vega were each sentenced to 50 years in prison as secondary accomplices of aggravated homicide and primary accomplices of kidnapping, of 3 of the 5 young Asians. Alcibiades Méndez, Keyla Bendibú, Mario Luis Vega, Inés Torres Flores, Delmita Torres Flores and Inés Chavarría Torres have been acquitted of the crime of money laundering. Felix Manuel Rosario Bruján is acquitted of intentional homicide and kidnapping.

Messrs. Kenny Bendibú Salazar and Roberto Mariscal Rodríguez were each sentenced to 15 years in prison, as secondary accomplices to the crime of aggravated homicide , but were acquitted of the crime of kidnapping. While the authorities accelerate the process, the rest of the accused in this case have already gone to trial and are awaiting sentencing.